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HAT STYLES

Men’s hats come in many shapes, sizes and fabrics.

Hats are slowly becoming a daily accessory for more and more modern gentlemen, reminding us of a time in America when men wouldn’t leave the house without one.

Hats are crafted with the finest materials, like Harris Tweed, murino wool, ripstop, genuine Panama straw, lambskin leather, Italian suede, fur felt hats, beaver fur hats and 100 percent wool top hats. Hat styles include iconic fedoras inspired by bygone gangsters, woolen ivy caps designed in the Irish tradition and safari hats and Outback hats made just for adventurers along with Western hats for the cowboys.

So to make it easier for you, we’ve broken down the basic hat styles, offered a little background history, and provided some pointers for adding them to your wardrobe.

The Cowboy Hat

The Cattleman

The Cattleman crown is likely the most popular type of crown today.

The Brick

The Brick crown has now become popular again due to the hat worn on the TV show Longmire.

The Gambler

The Gambler crown is a round flat crown.

The Gus

The Gus crown is a popular cowboy hat among real cowboys and is was what Robert Duvall wore in Lonesome Dove.

The Pinched Front

The Pinched Front crown usually has a v sharp to it with two pinched fronts.

The Derby

The Derby crown was worn by people like Bat Masterson and Doc Holiday and is actually an authentic Old West hat.

The cowboy hat is an American icon and can be immediately recognized as such anywhere around the world. They are typically made in felt, leather, or straw and have very wide brims. The cowboy hat as we know it wasn’t invented until 1865, by John Batterson Stetson. The first model was called “The Boss of the Plains,” and it was a high-crowned, wide-brimmed hat without any indents or creases in the crown. The spread of the cowboy hat relies as much on popular culture and Eastern perceptions of the West as it does the actual hat-wearing habits of cowboys.

However, that’s not to discount the usefulness and eventual dominance of the cowboy hat among ranchers. The felt was waterproof and the shape of the crease and indents could be adjusted for the climate, to either hold air in or dispel it. It became a symbol of rodeo clowns, some police units, Western entertainers like Buffalo Bill, and characters in Western movies. It was a hat designed for use in the West, and eventually became synonymous with it.

There are many variations on the cowboy hat, most of them adjusting either the indent and crease pattern, or the brim roll or snap. All of them, however, share at least two characteristics: a high crown and a wide brim. When wet, felt can be adjusted, and will stay in the shape that it dries in, so many different styles of cowboy hat crowns emerged. Many were particular to certain ranges or ranches.

Cowboy brims range from flat brims, to edges that are completely rolled over, to sides folded at a right angle. They usually feature a slight snapping down in front and up in back. Cowboy bands are often decorative and made of leather or ribbon.

The Fedora

The Homburg

The Homburg is a good choice for a formal business look. It has the same center-creased crown as the fedora (although sometimes not the side pinches), but the brim is stiffer and has an upturned lip all the way around which cannot be “snapped down”.

The Porkpie

The porkpie has a narrow brim that is always turned up and a flat top with a circular indent. The most famous porkpie in recent television history is worn by Bryan Cranston‘s character Walter White in Breaking Bad when he appears as his alter ego “Heisenberg”, whose persona is largely associated with the hat.

The Trilby

The trilby is usually made of felt and features a low crown and a narrow brim. It’s always snapped down in the front while the back is either snapped up or folded up at a right angle.

A fedora hat is the most stylish of all hats and are generally known for their high quality. The fedora was most popular during the first half of the 20th century. However, it has resurfaced in the past decade or two, probably thanks to Indiana Jones.

The fedora is a broad term that encompasses a variety of crown styles and brim shapes. It’s classic good looks, the ability to suit a wide variety of people, and the many celebrities seen wearing it only add to the appeal. A fedora is typically creased lengthwise down the middle of the crown, then “pinched” near the front on both sides.

A good felt (or straw) fedora has a sturdy but flexible brim that can be “snapped up” or “snapped down” in the front or back, allowing you to mold the brim and achieve the perfect, slightly-askew shape.

The Panama

The Panama hat is a traditional brimmed straw hat of Ecuadorian origin. Similar in shape to the trilby (down in the front, curled up in the back), but with proportions more similar to the classic fedora. Traditionally Panama hats were made from the plaited leaves of the Carludovica palmata, a palm-like plant rather than a true palm.

The rarest and most expensive Panama hats can have as many as 1600–2500 weaves per square inch. These hats are known as Montecristis, after the town of Montecristi, where they are produced. The Montecristi Foundation has established a grading system based on a figure called the Montecristi Cuenta, calculated by measuring the horizontal and vertical rows of weave per inch. A “superfino” Panama hat can, according to popular rumor, hold water, and when rolled for storage, pass through a wedding ring.

The Newsboy

The working man’s cap. Flat caps were very common for North American and European men and boys of all classes during the early 20th century and were almost universal during the 1910s-20s, particularly among the working ‘lower’ classes. A great many photographs of the period show these caps worn not only by newsboys, but by dockworkers, high steel workers, shipwrights, costermongers, farmers, beggars (such as Oliver Twist), bandits, artisans, and tradesmen of many types. This is also well attested in novels and films of this period and just after.

The Ivy Cap

The Ivy cap, or flat cap, is similar to the newsboy, only without the floppy 8 panels and the button on top. This style, which traces its history from Southern Italy, Northern England, and parts of Scotland, also wins the awards for the most names. It is also referred to as a cabbie cap, longshoreman’s cap, cloth cap, scally cap, Wigens cap, ivy cap, golf cap, duffer cap, driving cap, bicycle cap, Jeff cap, Steve cap, Irish cap, Paddy cap…in Scotland as a bunnet, in Wales as a Dai cap, and in England and New Zealand, as a cheese-cutter. Cloths used to make the cap include wool, tweed (most common), and cotton. Less common materials may include leather, linen or corduroy. The inside of the cap is commonly lined for comfort and warmth.

Headgear, usually made from fabric such as cotton and/or polyester, that covers the whole head, exposing only the face or part of it. Sometimes only the eyes or eyes and mouth are visible. Also known as a ski mask.

A brimless cap, with or without a small visor, once popular among school boys. Sometimes includes a propeller.
Note: In New Zealand, Australia, the United States and the United Kingdom, “beanie” also or otherwise refers to the tuque.

The tall, furry hat of the Brigade of Guards’ full-dress uniform, originally designed to protect them against sword-cuts, etc. Commonly seen at Buckingham Palace in London, England. Sometimes mistakenly identified as a Busby.

A soft round cap, usually of woollen felt, with a bulging flat crown and tight-fitting brimless headband. Worn by both men and women and traditionally associated with France and the military. Often part of [European?] schoolgirls’ uniform during the 1920s, 30s and 40s.

A broad-brimmed felt hat with brim folded up and pinned front and back to create a long-horned shape. Also known as a cocked hat. Worn by European military officers in the 1790s and, as illustrated, commonly associated with Napoleon.

A flat-brimmed and flat-topped straw hat formerly worn by seamen. Schools, especially public schools in the UK, might include a boater as part of their (summer) uniform. Now mostly worn at summer regattas or formal garden parties, often with a ribbon in club, college or school colors.

A warm, close-fitting tweed cap, with brims front and behind and ear-flaps that can be tied together either over the crown or under the chin. Originally designed for use while hunting in the climate of Scotland. Worn by –and so closely associated with – the character Sherlock Holmes.

A conical hat, usually tall and narrow, worn by late-19th and early-20th century school pupils as a punishment and/or humiliation. It often featured a large capital “D” inscribed on its side, to be shown frontwards when the hat was worn.

A traditional Scottish boat-shaped hat without a peak made of thick-milled woollen material with a toorie on top, a rosette cockade on the left, and (usually) ribbons hanging down behind. It is normally worn as part of Scottish military or civilian Highland dress.

Flat, square hat. Usually has a button centered on top. A tassel is attached to the button and draped over one side. Worn as part of academic dress. Traditionally, when worn during graduation ceremonies, the new graduates switch the tassel from one side to the other at the conclusion of the ceremony.

Also known as a field cap,a scout cap, or in the United States a mosh cap.; a soft cap with a stiff, rounded visor, and flat top, worn by military personnel in the field when a combat helmet is not required.

A military style cap with a flat sloping crown, band and peak (also called a visor). It is used by many militaries of the world as well as law enforcement, as well as some people in service professions who wear uniforms.

A pilgrim’s hat, cockel hat or traveller’s hat is a wide brim hat used to keep off the sun. It is highly associated with pilgrims on the Way of St. James. The upturned brim of the hat is adorned with a scallop shell to denote the traveller’s pilgrim status.

A lightweight rigid cloth-covered helmet made of cork or pith, with brims front and back. Worn by Europeans in tropical colonies in the 1800s.

Planter’s Hat

A lightweight straw hat, with a wide brim, a round crown and narrow round dent on the outside of the top of the crown. Worn by Clark Gable in Gone with the Wind, and Paul Bettany in Master and Commander.

Also known as a beaver hat, a magician’s hat, or, in the case of the tallest examples, a stovepipe hat. A tall, flat-crowned, cylindrical hat worn by men in the 19th and early 20th centuries, now worn only with morning dress or evening dress. Cartoon characters Uncle Sam and Mr. Monopoly are often depicted wearing such hats. Once made from felted beaver fur.

In Canada, a knitted hat, worn in winter, usually made from wool or acrylic. Also known as a ski cap, knit hat, knit cap, sock cap, stocking cap, toboggan, watch cap, or goobalini. In New Zealand, Australia, the United States and the United Kingdom, the term “beanie” is applied to this cap.